I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
Nov. 18, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
The Bemidji Community Soup Kitchen is in need of volunteers to help cook, serve and clean at its weekly meal, organization officials say.
The Soup Kitchen -- a nonprofit, sectarian group -- is facing a dwindling supply of volunteers in the face of a steadily rising clientele, secretary Val Angell said Wednesday.
Between 100 to 150 people, with more than half under the age of 12, eat at the dinner served every Thursday at Bemidji's First Lutheran Church. And for many, this meal may be their only hot meal all week, Angell said.
The Soup Kitchen operates on a volunteer basis, and groups of people are needed to help make the weekly meals a success, he said. Groups from churches, families, businesses or other service organizations are welcome, but a minimum of six people probably is needed.
Volunteer groups begin by arriving at the church Thursday afternoon to cook for the 5-6 p.m. meal. Later in the afternoon, more people arrive to set up tables, chairs and help with food preparation. Finally, people are needed to help clean up the kitchen, dishes, utensils, tables, chairs and such after the meal. Groups usually finish with the meal about 7 p.m.
Angell said that groups uncomfortable with preparing a meal for more than 100 people, can ask for help from Soup Kitchen staff, and there are volunteers from the Northwest Minnesota Juvenile Center that help with cleanup efforts.
About 15 groups currently serve the weekly meals on a six month rotation, meaning with a few more groups, most volunteers would need to help only three or four times annually. Angell said, however, that for a group to volunteer even once a year is appreciated.
For instance, there is one family who cooks and serves a prime rib dinner once a year in late December, he said.
The Bemidji Community Soup Kitchen is at least 7 years old, Angell said, and evolved from the Bemidji community holiday meals that are annually held during Thanksgiving and Christmas by Bemidji's churches.
In the beginning, a group from St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church tried hosting the weekly meal at their church, but it was too small. The meal eventually found a home at First Lutheran Church, which had a big enough kitchen and eating area to host it.
As many as 400 people have eaten during one meal, according to Angell, but the average now is between 100 to 150 people. More children seem to be attending the meals, he added. More than half of those are kids under 12 years old.
"I don't suppose that is surprising though, because the average age of homelessness is 9 years old," Angell said.
If more groups would volunteer, he said the Soup Kitchen could accomplish its other goals as well.
Most importantly, the group would like to start serving a second meal every week, which would require a number of extra volunteers. In addition, serving a second meal a week would necessitate the group finding a new home because they don't' want to impose on First Lutheran Church any more than they are.
"Like other groups, the Soup Kitchen is dealing with the growing numbers of homeless," Angell said, "and the Thursday meal is the only hot meal many people have each week. I'm amazed at the number of people who don't know the Soup Kitchen exists. I try hard to keep the word out there."
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